Car-coupling.



E. cox. CAR COUPLING. APPLICATION FILED APR.28| 1915.

Patented 0%. 5,1915.

Thomas E .C'ox

citizen of the United :Jefferson and State of vented certain new and lowing is a specification.

coupler heads of this type most frequently UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE. I

CAR-COUPLIN G.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Tr-IoMAs E. Cox, a States of America, residing at Birmingham, in the county of Alabama, have inuseful Improvements in Car-Couplings, of which the foly invention relates to an'improvement in car couplers of the J anney type having a swinging knuckle pivotally connected to the draw-head and provided with a tailwing adapted to swing within a recess in the draw-head and to be there engaged by a suitable locking mechanism, such, for instance, as that described and claimed in Letters Patent N 0. 1,123,694, issued to me on the day of January, 1915. In practice break across one'or the other of the lugs to which the knuckle is pivoted as the maximum jar or strain comes across the part of the lug Where it is weakened by the opening for the pivot pin. When either one of the lugs is thus injured or broken it necessitates the discarding ofthe entire coupler head and lays up the car for a considerable time for effecting the repairs.

The object of my invention is to reduce to a minimum the maintenance expense of coupler heads by providing the head with sockets in which knuckle holding blocks are detachably mounted and I pivot the knuckle between perforated lugs on these blocks instead'of to lugs integral with the draw-head. It therefore follows that any breakage across either of the lugs will involve only the replacement of its respective block without disturbing the draw-head. This arrangement also permits of the use of metal of high tensile strength in the blocks and lugs to make them capable of withstanding greater strains than when made of the same grade of steel as the draw-head.

manner in which these blocksare formed and in the'interlock'by whichthey'are made rigidly fast in the drawhead, it being obvious that it is difiicult to devise a means to perfectly accomplish this end because of the great strains or jars to which couplers are subjected. i

My invention further comprises the novel Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed April 28, 1915.

- which is recessed to receive a tail-wing Patented Oct. 5, 1915. SerialNo. 24,590. I

and arrangements of heremafter described and bodiment only are illustrated in the accom panying drawings, in which 2* Figure 1 isaa plan viewof the draw-head with the knuckle pivoted between lugs on the detachable blocks. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the draw-head showing the knuckle removed. Figs. 3 and4 are detail plan and outer side elevation views of the lower knuckle block. Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the planer-w of Fig. 2, and showing the blocks in dotted lines and the wedge means'for locking them rigidly in position. Fig, 6 is a partlal sectional V ew being omitted. v

Similar reference numerals refer to $11111- lar parts throughout the drawings.

vention the draw-bar 1 is'provided with a coupler head 2'having atone side a jaw 3 and at the other side an offset portion 4 In the illustrated embodiment of my inthe knuckle 6 and also the removable blocks" and 8 which carry the lugs 9 between which the knuckle is pivoted by a removable pin 10. p 1

The draw-head 1 and the offset portion 4 are provided and lockthe knuckle in its closed position.

The principal feature of" my present invention relates to the construction of the knuckle blocks 7 and Sand the manner of detachably mounting them in the head so that they will stand-all compression and strains on the knuckle ,to'

tent and with the same strength as if they Idraw-headi b ut' were integral parts of the which will havethe advantage of being replaceable when brokenwith'out requiringthe replacement of the draw-head, The blocks '7 and 8 are similar in desi and construcwith a common'recess or'chanr 'ber 11 which recelves'the tall-wlngand also will drop in front tion except that the inte'rloc'king'portions away from its lug 13.

nut 27 thereon seated in behind the knuckle blocks. terlock with the shoulders thereof are reversed for respective engagement with the upper and lower portions of the draw-head. The block shown in Fig. 3 is an inverted or bottom view of the upper block 7 while the block shown in Fig. 6 in top plan view is the lower block 8. Each block is formed by an oblong steel casting provided at its outer end with the perforated lug 9 and having at the inner end on the top face of the block 7 and on the bottom face of the block 8 an undercut lug 13 having its rear face 1 1 beveled. To give the lug great strength, its base portion is thickened and it extends from side to side across the lug.

On the opposite inner faces of the blocks 7 and S I provide a raised shoulder or enlargement 15 having a curved vertical bearing face extending from the outside inner corner of the lug 9 to the inside corner of the lug where it joins a rounded face conforming to the curvature of the front face of the drawhead with which it stands flush and forming the forward end of an overhanging ledge or shoulder 17 which has the same thickness as the shoulder 15 and extends rearwardly the full length of the shoulder where it joins a forwardly inclined integral lug 18' projecting from the inside edge of each block.

Upon each shoulder 15 is a knuckle hearing shoulder 19 extending on an inward and rearward curve from the outside forward corner of the shoulder 15 to a point near its inside inner corner and having its inner end 20 struck on-a convex curve. The inner end 21 of the shoulder 15 terminates short distance from the inner end of the block and is slightly inclined outwardly and forwardly from its inside to its outside edge. The inner end of each block has its face 22 slightly beveled toward its inside face and These inner ends of the blocks when seated in the craw-head are spaced from the rear wall of the drawhead and in order to lock them in position in the head in the manner hereinafter described, I provide for each block a wedge block 23, which blocks have overhanging lugs 24 that lap over the inner ends of the blocks and the wedge blocks are held locked in position behind the blocks 7 and 8 by means of a double wedge 25 which is provided with an opening to receive a retaining bolt 26. so disposed that it is exposed when the knuckle is removed so that it can be engaged by a tool and held so that the a countersunk recess 28 in the back of the draw-head can be removed. The draw-head is also provided in its top and bottom walls with holes 29, by means of which the blocks 23 can be pushed in and dislodged from position from In order to in- 13 and 18 of the knuckle blocks, the coupler is provided with top and bottom enlargements 30 in which are formed inwardly opening undercut notches 31 which correspond in shape to the lugs 13 and the inner side walls 32 are provided with side notches 33 which terminate in reversely disposed notches 34-. which correspond in shape with the lugs 18.

In assembling the parts the two blocks are slipped in the coupler head and moved to the dotted position shown in Fig. 5 where their lugs 13 and 18 interlock with the corresponding notches in the head, the wedge blocks 23 are then slipped one at a time between the blocks 7 and 8 and with a tool slid into position behind the block. The lock block 25 is then slipped edgewise between the blocks 7 and 8 and then shifted into position between the inner beveled faces of the wedges 23 and is screwed therein in place by the bolt 26. The knuckle is then mounted between the lugs 9 and the coupler ready for service. To remote a broken block, it is only necessary to take out the bolt 26, work the lock block 25 out, insert a tool through a hole 29 and punch out the wedge block behind the broken knuckle. block and then the latter can be shifted rearwardly and downwardly until it clears the notches 31 and 3 in the drawhead and can then be taken out;

hat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a car coupler, a draw-head having at one side a jaw and at the opposite side being provided with a vertical chamber connecting at its center with a tail-wing recess in the draw-head, knuckle blocks detachably mounted in the upper and lower portions of said chamber and having each a perforated lug which projects from the draw-head, interlocking lugs and shoulders on the blocks and draw-head to resist both push and pull thrusts, and removable lock blocks to hold the knuckle blocks in interlocked position in the head.

2. In a car coupler, a draw-head having a vertical recess at one side and a knuckle, of detachable retaining means for the knuckle comprising lugs between which the knuckle is pivoted, a shank integral with each lug and adapted to fit into said vertical recess, a transverse undercut lug on the outside face of each shank, an outwardly and forwardly inclined lug on a side edge of each shank, shoulders in the draw-head to interlock with said lugs, and a plurality of lock blocks which are adapted to hold each other in position and to hold the shanks rigidly interlocked with the draw-head.

3. In a car coupler, a draw-head having at one side a chamber which opens to the front and extends substantially from top to bottom thereof and from front to a point near the rear end of the draw-head, perforated lugs to which the coupler knuckle is adapted to be pivoted, an elongated block formed integral with each lug and adapted to fit snugly into said chamber, a rear transverse lug on each block, a forwardly inclined side lug on each block, recesses in the side walls of the chamber to permit the side lugs to be passed in, shoulders in the drawhead With which lugs on the block interlock, a wedge block adapted to be fitted in behind each of said lug blocks and the rear wall of said chamber, and an intermediate lock block removably mounted between said Wedge blocks to engage and hold them in position with the lug blocks interlocked 4 with the recesses in the draw-head.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signa- M. HENRY COHEN, J. N. BOYLE.

Gopiesof this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

